Month: December 2015

I let the blog slip a bit the last couple of months. I usually try to get a post or two off every month. The last couple of months, I’ve had to slip a bit. As a friend has put it, ‘Dave, you’re putting 10 pounds of stuff into a 5 pound bag’. That thought has ran SO true as I look back at 2015.

First off, there have been a lot of things that I’ve been doing that I haven’t written about, but probably should have. One thing that I’ve been involved in is Toastmasters. I joined a club where we would meet for lunch once a week. Not only did I join, but somehow, I stepped up to be the president of the club after only 6 months!?! Fortunately, the President’s position is more about vision than running around ‘doing’, and the board has some VERY strong people on it, so it wasn’t as overwhelming as it could have been. I’ve also been giving speeches at the club fairly regularly. I remember when I joined last year that I thought public speaking would be fairly simple… boy, was I wrong, and I’ve learned an incredible amount. I still have a LONG way to go, but I certainly feel like I have better tools. I’m looking forward to 2016 with Toastmasters!

Another thing I haven’t written about is my job. At the end of 2014, I changed jobs, leaving the company I had worked at for almost 8 years to go and be the lead developer for a project for a small company. I’ve absolutely LOVED the job that I took for this year, as it got me back programming. Unfortunately, my financial situation has caused me to take a new position. It is also a development position, but I’ll be driving a lot more to get to work. I really hate to leave, but the bills have to be paid. I was working a second development job to get by, but I wasn’t really able to put myself into that like I should have.

Finally, I haven’t written much about the people in my life. I want to respect their privacy, so I try not to put much in my blog posts. Just know that my personal life seems to have taken a turn for the better around the end of October, and I’m much happier for it! 🙂

One thing that did happen this year was that my music / sound guy career took off. I was able to do several shows that I never would have dreamed of doing. I was able to run sound for everything from over a thousand people seeing a tribute band, to some small, intimate clubs, to several festivals. I learned a LOT this year. Unfortunately, I’m going to be backing off a bit during the new year. Last years schedule was a little too much for me.

2016 also turned into a ‘gadget’ year. I certainly wasn’t expecting it to be. After the Apple Watch announcement (which, to me, has been a yawner), the first half of the year was relatively gadget quiet. I’ve even satisfied my guitarists’ ‘Gear Acquisition Syndrome’ (GAS for short), which still hasn’t flared up 🙂 Although, with NAMM around the corner, who knows what goodies will show up.

Unfortunately, Apple’s second half of the year announcements really did catch up with me 🙂 The iPhone 6S+, the iPad Pro, and even the AppleTV have snuck into my life. The latest iPhone’s camera has been a huge game changer for me. Other than that, though, the 6+ is a great phone that I would have normally kept 🙂 The iPad Pro has been huge (pun intended) too. My mixer, the Mackie DL32R’s iPad interface has already been updated to use the iPad Pro, and it’s been wonderful. Mackie really did a great job of using the extra screen space. I just set my Apple TV up today, so I’ll have something to write about it in the coming days.

Overall, I think 2015 wasn’t too bad of a year. I think 2016 will be a lot better, though!